The Phonecall
by studio60-fan
Summary: She is divorced with one child. He is in Europe. Will they find the way to each other...? My first fic and it's MONDLER, baby!
1. Chapter 1

It was the evening of a beautiful day. Monica came home. She had a hectic day at work; there were problems with the food, angry customers, the usual stuff. She opened the apartment door and was greeted by her fourteen year old daughter, Madeline.

'Hi, mom! What's up? you look very tired!'

Monica sighed.

'Hi, sweetie! Yeah, I am. I had an awful day at work. I just want to take a shower and go to sleep. Do you need something? Are you hungry? 'Cause I can make something for you...'

'No, that's ok, mom. I ate at the Mall. I'm going to do my homework, I have lots! Have a nice shower and sleep well!'

'Thanks, sweetie!' Monica said. She turned around to leave.

'Oh, I almost forgot! Some guy called... I think his name was Chandler...something... Bing, I think. But I'm not sure. He said he was calling from France! And he left his e-mail address. And I gave him yours. Is that okay?' Madeline said, handing a piece of paper to her mother.

'Yeah... yeah... uh... it's okay... Yeah, thanks...' Monica murmured, taking the piece of paper and staring at the e-mail address scribbled on it.

'Uh, mom? Are you okay...?'

'Yeah, yeah, of course I am! Now go do your homework!'

'Okay...' Her daughter went to her room.

While in the shower, Monica couldn't stop thinking. It couldn't be HIM! He left... he left 15 years ago... How did he get her number, anyway? And what did he want from her...?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This is basically the setup for the story and it's REALLY boring! Enjoy!

He was her husband's best friend. They were roommates in college. They spent a lot of time together. Although she was very happy with her husband, she couldn't help but notice the tension between her and Chandler. She was lost when she looked in his deep blue eyes. She felt butterflies in her stomach every time he looked at her and he talked to her. But she controlled herself. She knew she must be imagining things, maybe it was just the commitment phobia that was coming back to haunt her! She couldn't ruin her marriage. She just couldn't!

And then she got pregnant. And then, he left. Chandler did. He said he wanted a better life and that he always wanted to go to Europe. So he moved to France and she never heard from him again... Until now...

Since then, a lot had happened in her life. She had Madeline. It was the happiest day of her life. But, apparently, God thought she had enough happiness. After 3 or 4 years, her marriage started to go downhill. She and Steve were constantly fighting over little things. But they stayed together. They stayed for Madeline's sake, because they both loved her very much. Until they couldn't take it anymore. When Madeline was 11 years old they decided that she could understand a divorce.

Madeline didn't know exactly what was happening. Her time with her father was limited to two weekends a month now. He remarried. He didn't even ask for her permission! He just did it! But Madeline wasn't mad at him or anything. She just wanted to spend time with her father.

When Madeline was 13 years old, her mother got a job in New York. She could have her own restaurant there. And now Madeline had to face a very hard decision: to move with her mother to New York, or to stay in Boston with her father and his wife. She chose her mother. When he heard that, Steve got very angry, and for the first time in 2 years after the divorce, he faced his ex-wife. He had a huge fight with her and he told her that she was putting ideas in their daughter's head. He said, in the rush of the moment, that he didn't want to be part of Madeline's life anymore. That night the daughter and the mother cried themselves to sleep, holding each other. The next day, they were on a plane to New York.

Their life was now stabilizing. They were living in a beautiful apartment in the Village and everything seemed to go just fine.

Until that night, the night Madeline gave Monica that little piece of paper that brought back all the memories she was trying so hard to forget...


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm sooooo sorry it took so long to update, but for some reason i couldn't upload any documents. :( I have no idea if somebody is actually reading my story, but... anyway... Enjoy!

Monica was sitting in front of her computer. She hesitated. She was just going to check her e-mail. She wasn't doing anything wrong, wasn't she? Anyway, she was absolutely sure that he couldn't write to her THAT soon. She logged on to her e-mail account. A little popup came on. 'You have 1 new e-mail message'. Her fingers began trembling. It couldn't be from him! She opened it. And there it was... The subject: 'Hey, stranger'. She began reading, her eyes growing wider with every word.

_Hey, stranger!_

_Long time since we have last seen each other... How have you been? How is Steve? And how is your daughter? I think she was the one I talked on the phone with today. She gave me your e-mail address. She must be fourteen years old by now..._

_I truly regret moving to France now... Sure, it's a wonderful country, sure, I have a great job (I work in advertising, just like I dreamed I would) but... something is just... missing... And now I am asking myself why on Earth I am telling all this to you since I can barely remember your face! I remember your eyes, tough. Beautiful, blue, mesmerizing eyes... Anyway... I am anxiously waiting for your reply._

_Chandler_

Monica didn't know what to think. In a way, she felt angry at Chandler for popping in her life just when everything seemed to go right. But then she thought... he wasn't guilty of anything... He didn't know anything about her life in the last fourteen years. Her eyes went over the e-mail once again. _'How is Steve?'_ She felt her heart shrink. He thought she was still married. Of course he did! He had every reason to think that. She and Steve seemed perfect at the beginning... _'Something is just... missing...'_ She understood that feeling so well! She had Madeline and a perfect job at a perfect restaurant but still she needed more... She needed the warmth of a man's arms... She hadn't gone out with anybody since the divorce. She wasn't sure that Madeline would handle it.

Monica wondered if she should reply to Chandler's e-mail. Should she just ignore it? Should she lie to him and tell him that her life is perfect? Or should she tell him everything? Everything that had happened since he left...

Her head started to ache and she was very, very tired. She couldn't decide now. A good night sleep would help her clear things out. So she turned off the computer and went to bed. She closed her eyes and the first image that came in her mind was his eyes. Those deep blue eyes which, back then, made her oblivious of everything around her.

The next morning, Monica woke up with her mind made up. She will tell Chandler that her life is perfect. She won't tell him anything of the awful things that happened to her. She opened her computer. Today was Saturday and she had all the time in the world...

She started typing. She could easily lie to him, right? Why did she feel so obligated to him? Why did he deserve to know the truth? She will lie, and she will lie big time! But NO! She couldn't... She couldn't do this to him... She erased all that she had written so far, and started typing frantically. About a half an hour later, she laid back in her chair, content with the e-mail she had just written.

_Dear Chandler,_

_I was so surprised when I heard that you called here! I was even more surprised when i got your e-mail._

_So much has happened to me since you left... But I don't want to bore you with it. It's really a long, long, complicated story. I had my ups and downs, but, the bottom line is that my life seems to be going pretty well now. Or at least, my professional life. My personal one, not so much... But I have Madeline, and that's what counts. Madeline is my daughter, and, yes, she is fourteen years old. She is so smart and beautiful. It's funny, sometimes she reminds me of you. She is a lot like you: throwing punch-lines and sarcastic remarks all the time. That is what makes me love her even more (if that is possible)._

_I am so sorry that France isn't going that well for you. I have to admit, I was a little surprised when you left. It was so sudden! I didn't even know that you liked Europe! Anyway, I am still sorry that it didn't quite work out the way you thought it would._

_So...I don't know what else I could say... I hope you will answer..._

_Monica_

Yes, it wasn't a very bad reply. She didn't lie to him, but still, she didn't gave away too much. She hit the 'Send' button.

She got dressed in some casual clothes and exited her room. She went in the kitchen and was surprised to see her daughter at the table. She was eating some pancakes. In the middle of the table there was a bigger plate with a lot of pancakes.

'Morning, mom!'

'Morning, sweetie! How come you are up so early? It's only 9 in the morning! You usually sleep until noon on Saturdays.'

'I know. But I woke up and thought I make breakfast for the both of us. I know you worked a lot this week at the restaurant and I thought you deserved a break. And also, I was thinking if you would want to spend the day together. We will have some plain, old, mother-daughter fun: we will go shopping, have lunch, hang out in that cute little coffee place. We hardly spend time together lately... I miss having fun with you... What do you say?'

'Oh, my God! I can't believe you did this. I would love to spend the day with you! Come here!'

And with that, Monica, with teary eyes, pulled her daughter into a hug.

'God, mom! I feel like in a soap opera or something... When did you become so sentimental?'

But still, she hugged her mother tightly.


	4. Chapter 4

Monica opened the door to their apartment and she and her daughter walked in. They had the greatest day! They went to the Mall and they shopped for hours, then they had lunch. After lunch, they went to the carnival and had a lot of fun and last, they went to Central Perk, their favorite coffee shop. And now they were really exhausted.

'Mum, I think I'm going to go to sleep. I'm really tired! And tomorrow I have o get up early to catch up with my homework.' Madeline said, fighting huge yawns as she spoke.

'Okay. Sleep tight, Mad!' She gave her daughter a kiss. Then she added:

'And thanks again for today! I had a blast!'

'It was my pleasure, mum. And I had a great time, too. So, good night and don't stay up too late, young lady!' she said, sounding serious.

Monica burst out laughing. 'Okay, I won't! I'll be a good girl! 'Night!'

''Night!' her daughter said, laughing on the way to her bedroom.

Monica yawned. She was very sleepy. But she wanted to check her e-mail before she went to bed. She was dying to know if Chandler had answered. She didn't really expect a reply because it was just this morning when she sent him her e-mail, but still, somewhere deep in her heart she hoped...

She opened her e-mail account. And there it was again. Her heart started pounding hard against her chest. She opened it and was surprised to see only a few words:

_Dear Monica,_

_PLEASE, please, bore me with your story! I want to know everything that I have missed from your life! Tell me the story of your life..._

_Yours truly,_

_The Chan-Chan Man!_

She gave a short laugh. "The Chan-Chan Man" was her nickname for him. She would always call him that, especially when he was depressed and she tried to cheer him up. She didn't know why exactly, but this nickname always made him feel better about himself...

Such a short e-mail... Monica thought. So little words, but still so sweet… You could tell that he really cared about her.

Slowly at first, Monica started typing. But once the message was started, it was hard to stop. Her hands were moving very fast on the keyboard. She poured her heart and soul in this e-mail, telling her long lost friend about "the story of her life", as he called it.

After finishing, she felt somewhat relieved. She had taken a load of her chest. She didn't really have any true friends here, in New York, so basically nobody knew just how screwed-up her life used to be. And it was wonderful to talk to someone you trusted. Even though she hadn't seen him in fourteen years and even though e-mailing couldn't really be considered as an actual 'talk', she felt the connection between her and Chandler.

Just as she had clicked the 'Send' button, there was a knock on the door. She looked at her watch. It was 11 PM. Who could it be this late at night? She walked to the door and looked out her peephole. She didn't believe her eyes! Slowly, she opened the door and faced a pair of brown, tired, eyes. She was shocked...

'Ross? What are you doing here?' she asked her eyes wide in surprise.

She looked at her brother up and down. He was obviously exhausted. She hadn't seen him in years. Their lives took separate ways years ago. While she went to study at a college in Boston he decided NYU was better for him. But after he graduated college he met an English woman named Emily Waltham. They got married very soon and he moved to London. Monica had only seen him during college at 2 or 3 Thanksgivings but, after that, they drifted apart. Sure, they would send out cards and e-mails on special occasions like Christmas or birthdays, but that was it.

'Yeah, I know it's very late, Mon, but I didn't really have anywhere else to go... I haven't talked to my old college buddies in decades and I knew where you lived and... I'm so sorry to bother you...'

'No, it's ok, really, you are not bothering me!' Monica answered quickly. 'Come on in' she said and she led him to the couch.

'I'll make you some tea or something...'

'Ugh, tea! I HATE tea! I'm tired of tea! I never thought that you could get tired of drinking tea but apparently, after you live in England for a while, it will happen!'

Monica was a bit taken aback by his negative reaction to tea. After all, it was just a drink. She figured that something bad must have happened between him and Emily that made him fly across the ocean. She sat down next to him on the couch.

'Ross, what's wrong? What happened? You look exhausted...'

A little sparkle in Ross's eyes appeared. It was a tear.

'Ugh... it's me and Emily... I think we're getting a divorce...'

Monica pulled her brother in a hug. She could feel that he was shivering.

'I'm so sorry' she whispered.

They stayed like this for about 15 minutes until Monica slightly pulled away to see her brother's teary eyes.

'What happened? Why are you getting a divorce? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just thought talking about it would make it easier.'

'Yeah, I guess you're right...' Ross murmured. 'Well, I came home from the museum early and I caught her... She was in bed with one of her tough rugby-playing mates... And that's it. That's the whole story. I stormed out of the house, went to the airport and bought a ticket to New York - the only place that felt close to home because you are living in it.'

'Aww...again, I'm so sorry that things didn't work out but I'm really glad you came here. You are free to stay as long as you want. I'll give you my room and I'll sleep on the couch...'

'No, no' Ross interrupted her. 'I can't stay here. You have a family of your own. I mean you have Madeline. What would she say if she would wake up to find a total stranger in her house? No, I'm going to get a room at a hotel or something.'

'No, I insist. You can't stay all by yourself in a hotel room now! And Mad will be totally fine with it. She loves visitors - we don't have many people come here often. And plus, she will be happy to get to know her uncle! So, please, please, stay here... For me?' Monica said with pleading eyes.

'Okay, okay. I'll stay. But just for tonight. First thing tomorrow morning I'm going to check in a hotel. Because I doubt that I will be returning to London any time soon...' he said giving a short laugh.

Monica hugged him again and then made his bed in her room. After saying 'good night' she plopped herself on the couch and immediately fell asleep.


End file.
